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Police in Te Awamutu were on standby yesterday afternoon as trouble boiled over in the country's largest correctional facility, Waikeria Prison, 15km south of the Waikato town.
Police spokeswoman Kris McGehan said a call was received about 3.15pm, after about "40 people in the yard were not co-operating [with prison guards]".
She said the prisoners were driven back to their cells without incident. "There was no fighting and no injuries," she said.
Police had not had to go to the prison, she said. "They call us as a matter of courtesy. Police were alerted but not required."
Corrections confirmed there was a disturbance among prisoners in a yard at the prison.
Public Prisons Service general manager Harry Hawthorn said staff moved immediately to contain the situation and the rest of the prison was locked down.
"This incident was contained without any injury to staff or prisoners," he said in a statement.
"It appears that 23 prisoners, who were contained in an exercise yard, started an organised protest complaining about their cells being searched for contraband.
"After initially causing some damage to the exercise facility, they were calmed down and returned to their cells without any further incident. At no time was the safety of the public compromised."
An Auckland woman whose husband works at Mt Eden Prison said after the trouble at Waikeria he told her he would be late home from work last night. "I don't know what's going on down there but it must be something they're worried about."
